Political Science and International Studies

This book examines theformation and operation of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalitiongovernment from May 2010 to May 2015. The authors outline the factors thatenabled the union, including economic circumstances, parliamentary politics,the initially amicable relationship established between David Cameron and NickClegg, and the apparent ideological closeness of Conservative modernisers andOrange Book Liberal Democrats. The authors then analyse how these factorsshaped the policy agenda pursued over the five years, including the issues ofdeficit reduction, public sector reform, and welfare reduction, beforediscussing the tensions that developed as a result of these decisions.Ultimately, relations between the coalition partners steadily became lessamicable and more acrimonious, as mutual respect gave way to mutualrecrimination.